Bangladesh

I

INTRODUCTION

Bangladesh, in full, People’s Republic of Bangladesh, republic of southern Asia, in the northeastern portion of the Indian subcontinent, bordered on the west, north, and east by India, on the southeast by Myanmar (formerly known as Burma), and on the south by the Bay of Bengal.
The area of the country is 147,570 sq km (56,977 sq mi). The capital and largest city of Bangladesh is Dhaka.

Geographically, historically, and culturally, Bangladesh forms the larger and more populous part of Bengal, the remainder of which constitutes the neighboring Indian state of West Bengal. From 1947 to 1971 the area of Bangladesh was a province of Pakistan. As such, its official designation was changed from East Bengal to East Pakistan in 1955. On March 26, 1971, leaders of East Pakistan declared the province independent as Bangladesh (Bengali for “land of the Bengalis”), and its independence was assured on December 16, 1971, when Pakistani troops in the region surrendered to a joint force of Bangladeshi and Indian troops.

II

POPULATION

The estimated population of Bangladesh (2008) is 153,546,901, making Bangladesh one of the ten most populous countries in the world. The population growth rate is 2 percent. The overall density, 1,147 persons per sq km (2,970 persons per sq mi) in 2008, is much higher than that of other countries except for microstates such as Singapore. The distribution of the population is relatively even, except in the sparsely populated Chittagong Hill Tracts District and the almost totally uninhabited Sundarbans. Bangladesh supports a large rural population, with only 25 percent of the Bangladeshi people classified as urban in 2005. Most of the people are relatively young, nearly 60 percent being under the age of 25 and only 4 percent being 65 or older. Life expectancy at birth is 63 years.

A

Ethnic Groups

More than 98 percent of Bangladesh’s inhabitants are Bengalis, who are largely descended from Indo-Aryans (speakers of the parent language of the Indo-European languages). The Indo-Aryans began to migrate into the Bengal region from the west thousands of years ago and mixed within Bengal with various indigenous groups. The remainder of the population includes Bihāris, non-Bengali Muslims who migrated from India (principally from the state of Bihār) after the 1947 partition, and various indigenous ethnic groups (locally known as tribal groups). Although Bihāris constitute the largest minority group, a large proportion of their original population repatriated to Pakistan after 1971. The Chakmas, who live in the southeastern Chittagong Hill Tracts District, constitute the largest tribal group in Bangladesh. Other tribal groups include the Marmas and Tripuras, who also live in the Chittagong region; the Garos and Khasis, whose populations in northeastern Bangladesh are the southernmost extensions of tribal groups living in adjacent Indian states; and the Santals, who also live in northeastern Bangladesh and form, with Santals living elsewhere, South Asia’s largest tribal group.

B

Languages

The official language is Bengali, also known as Bangla. It belongs to the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European language family and is, along with Assamese, the most eastern of these languages. Its script is derived from the Devanagari script of Sanskrit. The cultural and national identity of ethnic Bengalis is closely associated with their language. Bengali has two distinct variants—a formal written form that developed during the 16th century, and a more casual spoken form that became an accepted literary form in the 20th century.

Although the vast majority of Bangladeshis speak Bengali, other languages are spoken in the country as well. Urdu, an Indo-Iranian language, is spoken by the Bihāris; Sino-Tibetan languages are spoken by the Garo and Santal peoples, among others; and Tibeto-Burman languages are spoken by the Chakmas, Marmas, and Tripuras in the Chittagong Hill Tracts District. English is widely used in higher education and government.

C

Religion

Islam, the state religion, is the faith of 88 percent of the population. Almost all of the country’s Muslims adhere to the Sunni branch; however, there are also a small number of Shia Muslims, including members of the Ismaili sect. Hindus make up most of the remainder of the population, but the country also includes small communities of Buddhists, Christians, and animists.

D

Education

Public education in Bangladesh generally follows the model established by the British prior to 1947. The government provides free schooling for the first eight years, including five years of primary education, which is compulsory and begins at age six. While most children are enrolled in primary schools, only 47 percent go on to secondary schools. Poor school attendance contributes to a literacy rate of only 44 percent for Bangladeshis aged 15 and older. Bangladesh lacks sufficient numbers of schools, even though facilities have increased substantially since the 1970s.

Bangladesh has several universities, the largest of which is the University of Dhaka (1921). Others include Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (1962) and Jahangirnagar University (1970), both in Dhaka; Bangladesh Agricultural University (1961) in Mymensingh; the University of Chittagong (1966); and the University of Rājshāhi (1953). Colleges include Bangladesh College of Textile Technology (1950) in Dhaka, and Chittagong Polytechnic Institute (1962). The country’s colleges and universities together enroll more than 500,000 students.

E

Culture

Bangladeshi culture is, in many respects, inseparable from that of greater Bengal. Beginning in the early 19th century a majority of the most widely read and admired Bengali writers and artists, Hindu as well as Muslim, worked for a time in the Indian metropolis of Calcutta (now Kolkata). Thus began the Bengal Renaissance, a cultural movement among Bengalis in Calcutta that reached its height in the early 20th century. After the capital of British India was moved from Calcutta to New Delhi in 1911, Calcutta continued to be a center of Bengali culture.

The writers of the Bengal Renaissance were the pioneers of modern Bengali literature. Poet Michael Madhusudan Datta broke with established tradition to write Bengali poetry in the blank verse style, and the novelist and essayist Bankim Chandra Chatterjee wrote what is considered the first Bengali novel, Durgeshnandini (1865). The Hindu writer, artist, and philosopher Rabindranath Tagore (in Bengali, Ravīndranātha Thākura) earned distinction as the first non-European writer to be awarded the Nobel Prize in literature, in 1913 for his volume of poems Gitanjali (Song Offerings, 1910). Several contemporaries of Tagore also gained recognition for their works. Most notably, Kazi Nazrul Islam became the first widely acclaimed Muslim Bengali writer. Today he is revered in Bangladesh as the voice of Bengali independence and nationalism. Common themes in many Bengali works include rural life, class conflict, and human struggle. See also Indian Literature.

Painting, sculpture, and architecture were strongly influenced by Muslim rule in the region during the 16th and 17th centuries (see Islamic Art and Architecture). Modern painting was pioneered by Zainul Abedin, Kamrul Hassan, and S. M. Sultan, among others. Their abstract and realist paintings achieved international renown, including Abedin’s black-and-white sketches of the Calcutta famine of 1943. Many of their works are part of the permanent collection of the Bangladesh National Museum.

III

ECONOMY

First as part of British India and then of Pakistan, the area now constituting Bangladesh suffered from chronic economic neglect. The region produced large quantities of agricultural goods, including most of the world’s jute, but received little investment in such basic items as transportation facilities and industrial plants. Much of the industrial investment, particularly in jute manufacturing, was made by West Pakistani-owned firms. After Bangladesh gained independence, the government took over most of the assets owned by West Pakistanis. Today most of these firms remain government-owned; a program to privatize them has made little progress.

Bangladesh’s vast reserves of natural gas, many just recently discovered, hold great potential for the country’s future economic development. However, the government’s reluctance to sanction gas exports to India and its reputation for rampant corruption have tended to discourage foreign investment. Foreign direct investment in Bangladesh has been minor relative to most other countries in Asia.

Bangladesh’s gross domestic product (GDP) was estimated at $61.9 billion in 2006. Agriculture contributed 20 percent of the GDP, industry (including manufacturing) contributed 28 percent, and services contributed 53 percent. In 2004 Bangladesh’s budget included $5.58 billion in expenditures and $4.90 billion in revenues.

A

Agriculture

Agriculture in Bangladesh consists mostly of subsistence farming on small farms. Per-capita output tends to be low. Rice, of which two or three crops can be grown each year, is the leading food crop in all areas and accounts for most of the cultivated area. Some 44 million metric tons were harvested in 2006, placing Bangladesh among the world’s leading producers of rice. High-yielding varieties of rice are cultivated as part of a government initiative to increase the country’s self-sufficiency in food grains. Other cereal crops, notably wheat, have grown in importance since the 1980s, and the area of land under wheat cultivation continues to increase. Pulses, an important source of protein in most Bangladeshi diets, are also cultivated. Other crops include various oilseeds (mainly for cooking oil), potatoes, sweet potatoes, sugarcane, bananas, mangoes, and pineapples.

The principal cash, or export, crop is jute (a plant used to make burlap and twine), grown throughout the annually flooded portions of the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta; the amount of jute harvested in 2006 was about 801,000 metric tons. Tea, also a valuable cash crop, is grown almost exclusively in the northeast, around Sylhet. Cattle and buffalo are numerous, raised for dung (a source of fuel), hides (for leather), and meat.

B

Fishing, Forestry, and Mining

Aquatic animals provide a major source of animal protein in the Bangladeshi diet. Hilsa (a kind of herring) and prawns are among the principal commercial species. The amount of fish caught in 2005 was 2.2 million metric tons, mostly consisting of freshwater varieties. Most freshwater fish are raised in farm ponds throughout the country. The leading commercial types of trees are wild sundari, gewa, and teak. Bamboo is also an important forest product.

Natural gas production is the primary mining activity in Bangladesh. Extensive development began in the 1990s after vast reserves were discovered both onshore and offshore in the Bay of Bengal. Apart from natural gas production, mining and quarrying are of negligible importance in Bangladesh.

IV

HISTORY

In 1947 British India was partitioned to form two new independent states: India, comprising the predominantly Hindu areas of the former British colony, and Pakistan, comprising the predominantly Muslim areas. Pakistan was divided into an east wing (present-day Bangladesh) and a west wing (present-day Pakistan). The two wings were separated by 1,600 km (1,000 mi) of Indian territory. Differences between the two wings of Pakistan soon developed, in part because their distance made governing difficult, but also due to substantial cultural differences. Chief among these was language. The West Pakistan-dominated government insisted that Urdu be the sole national language. Bengalis insisted that Bengali (Bangla) be accorded the same status. Riots ensued, one resulting in the death of a number of students in Dhaka. In 1954 the national legislature agreed that both Urdu and Bengali would be national languages. In 1949 Bengali leaders founded the Awami League to fight for the autonomy of East Pakistan.

In 1966 Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (“Mujib”), leader of the Awami League, set forth a political and economic program that aimed to redress these inequities. The six points of his program were intended to secure the autonomy of East Pakistan. The main demands were for a parliamentary government elected by universal adult suffrage, with legislative representation on the basis of population; a federal government with responsibilities limited mainly to foreign affairs and defense; and provincial autonomy in fiscal affairs and domestic policing. To the central government, the most dangerous of the six points was the one that provided for taxes to be collected only at the provincial level, as this would have forced the central government to operate under subsidies from the provinces.

In 1969 President Ayub Khan of Pakistan was replaced by General Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan. Yahya announced that a parliamentary election would be held in 1970 and decreed that the equal representation of the two wings would end. Instead, parliamentary seats would be determined by the population of each of Pakistan’s five provinces, giving East Pakistan, the largest province, 162 of the 300 seats in the National Assembly. In the elections, Mujib and the Awami League ran on the platform of the six points and won 160 seats.

The Awami League’s overwhelming victory surprised Yahya and his advisers, who had underestimated the support for the Awami League. Yahya had expected no single party to win a majority, an outcome that would have given him more power over the parliament.

Mujib claimed the prime ministership and asserted that the six points would be enacted as the basis of a new constitution. Leaders in the west, headed by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, objected to these assertions. Demonstrations in the east were followed by a military crackdown. Mujib and other leaders were arrested; many were killed. A civil war ensued. Large numbers of Bengalis were massacred by the Pakistani military, and some 10 million Bengalis fled to the neighboring Indian state of West Bengal.

A

Independent Republic

Bangladesh’s initial government was formed in January 1972 under the leadership of Mujib, who became prime minister. His immediate tasks were to rebuild the war-ravaged nation, reestablish law and order, and reintegrate the numerous Bengali war refugees returning from India and those repatriated from Pakistan. A longer-range goal was to foster economic growth in order to raise the very low living standards of the densely populated nation. In the first years of independence Bangladesh received much aid from abroad, and Mujib nationalized major industries as part of his program of developing the country along the lines of democratic socialism. He had little success, however, in improving the economy, and lawlessness prevailed.

In mid-1974 the country was devastated by floods that destroyed much of the grain crop and led to widespread famine. At the same time, political disorder was increasing, and in late 1974 the government declared a national state of emergency. In early 1975 Mujib became president under a remodeled constitution that granted him virtually dictatorial power. He immediately implemented a one-party system that allowed only his newly formed party, the Bangladesh Krishak-Sramik Awami League (BAKSAL), to participate in government. He was unable to stabilize the political situation, however, and was killed in a military coup d’état on August 15, 1975. (In 1998 15 former army officers were convicted of his assassination and sentenced to death.)

In November military leaders ousted Mujib’s successor, Khandakar Mushtaque Ahmed, who had initiated martial law, and installed Abusadat Muhammad Sayem as president. General Ziaur Rahman (“Zia”) assumed the presidency when Sayem resigned in 1977. Martial law was lifted in 1979, following parliamentary elections in which a party that formed to support Zia, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), gained a majority. Despite a continuing food shortage, the nation made considerable economic progress in 1980 and 1981.

B

Ershad Regime

Ershad immediately proclaimed martial law, suspending the constitution and prohibiting all political activities. Ershad ruled under a figurehead president until December 1983, when he assumed the presidency. Although martial law remained in effect, Ershad allowed limited political activities to resume, and his supporters formed the Jatiya Dal Party. Two major opposition alliances formed under the leadership of the Awami League, represented by Sheikh Hasina Wajid, the eldest daughter of Mujib, and the BNP, headed by Begum Khaleda Zia, the widow of President Zia. Although rivals, the two parties joined forces to lead a broader opposition front, the Movement for the Restoration of Democracy. The movement demanded an end to martial law, restoration of civil rights, release of political prisoners, and parliamentary elections.

In March 1986 Ershad eased martial law restrictions in order to satisfy some of the demands of the opposition. Parliamentary elections were finally held in May. While the BNP-led alliance boycotted the elections, the Awami League chose to participate. The Jatiya Dal won a comfortable parliamentary majority, and Ershad proceeded with plans for a presidential election in October. Opposition parties, including the Awami League, boycotted the election, declaring it a sham as long as martial law remained in effect. Ershad won a five-year term with more than 80 percent of the vote.

In November a parliamentary session boycotted by the Awami League passed legislation protecting Ershad’s military regime from reprisals. Ershad then lifted martial law and reinstated the constitution. Subsequently, the Awami League withdrew from parliament and rejoined the BNP and other opposition parties in staging general strikes and public demonstrations. In response, Ershad declared a state of emergency and dissolved the parliament. New elections were held in March 1988 with both the BNP and the Awami League boycotting. In consequence, the Jatiya Party (formerly the Jatiya Dal) won a landslide victory. In September of that year, devastating floods inundated about three-fourths of the country and left an estimated 30 million people homeless.

In concert with activist student organizations, the BNP and the Awami League continued to work together to demand free and fair elections in Bangladesh. Faced with a massive wave of strikes and violent demonstrations, Ershad was forced to resign in December 1990. He was subsequently convicted and imprisoned on charges of corruption and illegal weapons possession.

C

Tumultuous Politics

General elections were held in February 1991 under a caretaker government headed by a chief justice. The BNP won a plurality of the seats and managed to form a government with the support of another former opposition party, the Jamaat-e-Islami. BNP leader Zia became prime minister. An amendment to the constitution made the Prime Minister head of government, and the president of Bangladesh became chief of state with largely ceremonial duties.

In May 1994 opposition parties began a series of boycotts of parliament, amid a deepening personal feud between Prime Minister Zia and Awami League leader Sheikh Hasina. The Awami League-led opposition demanded that future elections be held under a neutral caretaker government. In December opposition members in parliament resigned en masse to force new elections. They organized a series of violent strikes in January 1995. The parliament was dissolved in November to make way for a general election; however, opposition parties refused to participate without the appointment of a neutral caretaker government. The general election went ahead in February 1996, but the opposition boycott, low voter turnout, and violent incidents undermined the landslide victory of the ruling BNP.

The opposition parties refused to recognize the election results and called a general strike, which strained Bangladesh’s economy. With strikes and violent demonstrations threatening the stability of the country, Zia bowed to opposition demands. After pushing through a constitutional amendment to provide for a neutral caretaker government, she resigned in March.

New elections, held in June 1996 under the supervision of the caretaker government, brought a shift in power to Bangladesh. The Awami League won the most seats and, forming a coalition with the Jatiya Party, gained a majority in parliament. Sheikh Hasina was named prime minister. The BNP, winning slightly more than one-third of parliamentary seats, formed the official opposition. Despite the BNP’s active opposition tactics, Sheikh Hasina became the first prime minister of Bangladesh to complete a full five-year term in office.

Before the 2001 elections, the Jatiya Party split into three factions, with one joining the BNP-led four-party alliance. Ershad, who had been released from prison in January 1997 and continued to lead the Jatiya Party, was not permitted to be a candidate due to his former conviction. In the October elections the Awami League was soundly defeated as the BNP-led coalition won more than two-thirds of the parliamentary seats. Zia became prime minister a second time.

In November 2001 the BNP-led parliament elected Badruddoza Chowdhury, a former foreign minister and the founding member of the BNP, as the president of Bangladesh. He resigned abruptly in June 2002 after protests from the BNP over his failure to pay his respects at the tomb of former president Ziaur Rahman on the anniversary of his assassination. The ruling coalition then chose Iajuddin Ahmed, a former university professor, as the country’s president.

Under the constitution of Bangladesh, the prime minister and the government must step down 90 days prior to parliamentary elections so that a neutral caretaker government can take over to ensure free and fair elections. Accordingly, Prime Minister Zia and her BNP government resigned in October 2006. However, the Awami League claimed that the proposed head of the caretaker government, a former Supreme Court chief justice, was biased in favor of the BNP. Opposition parties led by the Awami League staged nationwide protests, which turned violent as rival sets of supporters clashed in the streets. President Ahmed then appointed himself as interim leader of the caretaker government. The opposition alliance demanded reforms ahead of elections, including updated voter registration lists and a reorganization of the election commission.